Swindon South is a constituency in the Borough of Swindon, Wiltshire, represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2024 by Heidi Alexander of the Labour Party.
Swindon South | |
---|---|
County constituency for the House of Commons | |
![]() Boundary of Swindon South in Wiltshire | |
![]() Location of Wiltshire within England | |
County | Wiltshire |
Electorate | 72,468 (2023)[1] |
Current constituency | |
Created | 1997 |
Member of Parliament | Heidi Alexander (Labour Party) |
Seats | One |
Created from | Swindon and Devizes |
In the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, the seat was renamed from South Swindon to Swindon South, first contested at the 2024 general election.[2]
Boundaries
edit1997–2010: The Borough of Thamesdown wards of Central, Chiseldon, Dorcan, Eastcott, Freshbrook, Lawns, Park, Ridgeway, Toothill, Walcot, and Wroughton.
2010–2024: The Borough of Swindon wards of Central, Covingham and Dorcan (part), Eastcott, Liden + Eldene and Park South, Lydiard and Freshbrook, Old Town, Chiseldon and Lawn, Ridgeway, Shaw, Mannington and Western (part), Walcot and Park North, and Wroughton and Wichelstowe.
The constituency was created in 1997 from parts of the Swindon and Devizes seats. It covered the southern half of the town as well as farms, villages and hamlets to the immediate south and east of Swindon.
There were slightly amended boundaries for the 2010 election, which saw it lose South Marston to North Swindon. The boundary ran from Dorcan across to Bishopstone and then down to Russley Park before turning west to Barbury Castle. From there it ran north to the Roughmoor area and looped back down to incorporate West Swindon, before following the railway east through the town and back to Dorcan. Settlements outside the Swindon built-up area include Wroughton, Chiseldon, Wanborough, and Liddington.[3]
2024–present: Further to the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, enacted by the Parliamentary Constituencies Order 2023, from the 2024 general election, the constituency is composed of the following (as they existed on 1 December 2020):
- The Borough of Swindon wards of: Central; Chiseldon and Lawn (polling districts CLA, CLC and CLD); Covingham and Dorcan; Eastcott; Liden, Eldene and Park South; Lydiard and Freshbrook; Mannington and Western; Old Town; Shaw; Walcot and Park North.[4]
The changes included the transfer of the Covingham and Nythe districts from Swindon North; the adjustment of the boundary around Nythe ensured that the whole of the parish of Nythe, Eldene and Liden falls within the constituency. At the same time, a substantial semi-rural area in the south, namely the Chiseldon and Wroughton districts, was transferred to the new constituency of East Wiltshire; this involved the parishes of Bishopstone, Chiseldon, Liddington, Wanborough and Wroughton.
History
editSwindon is a railway town, and until the latter part of the 20th century the related works were the primary employer.[5] Today, Swindon is the home of a number of large companies: examples specific to South Swindon include Intel's European headquarters,[6] Nationwide's headquarters[7] and Zurich Financial Services' UK headquarters.
Created in 1997, the Swindon South constituency, swinging in line with the national average in the New Labour landslide, produced a fairly safe majority for the Labour winner. Julia Drown had a majority of more than 5,000 which was extended in 2001 to more than 7,000 but then dropped dramatically on a new candidate's selection, to 1,353 in 2005. In 2010, Robert Buckland, a Conservative, gained South Swindon at the general election with a majority of just over 3,500. In 2015, the Conservative majority increased to 5,785; in 2017, the Conservative majority fell to 2,464 on a 3.5% swing to Labour. In 2019, Buckland's majority rose to 6,625 (13%) and 52% of the vote, with a swing of 4.1% to Conservative. These patterns suggest a seat that is more marginal than its neighbour Swindon North, and one which has acted as a bellwether of the national result. Buckland was the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice between July 2019 and September 2021, and Secretary of State for Wales from July to October 2022.
At the 2024 election, the result again aligned with the national result: Heidi Alexander won the seat for Labour with a 16% swing.[8]
Members of Parliament
editElection | Member[9] | Party | |
---|---|---|---|
1997 | Julia Drown | Labour | |
2005 | Anne Snelgrove | Labour | |
2010 | Robert Buckland | Conservative | |
2024 | Heidi Alexander | Labour |
Elections
editElections in the 2020s
editParty | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Heidi Alexander[11] | 21,676 | 48.4 | +8.2 | |
Conservative | Robert Buckland[12] | 12,070 | 26.9 | –24.7 | |
Reform UK | Catherine Kosidowski[13] | 6,194 | 13.8 | N/A | |
Green | Rod Hebden[14] | 2,539 | 5.7 | +5.2 | |
Liberal Democrats | Matt McCabe[15] | 1,843 | 4.1 | –3.5 | |
Independent | Martin Costello[10] | 472 | 1.1 | N/A | |
Majority | 9,606 | 21.5 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 44,794 | 61.7 | –6.6 | ||
Registered electors | 72,596 | ||||
Labour gain from Conservative | Swing | 16.5 |
Elections in the 2010s
edit2019 notional result[16] | |||
---|---|---|---|
Party | Vote | % | |
Conservative | 25,564 | 51.6 | |
Labour | 19,914 | 40.2 | |
Liberal Democrats | 3,788 | 7.6 | |
Green | 261 | 0.5 | |
Turnout | 49,527 | 68.3 | |
Electorate | 72,468 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Robert Buckland | 26,536 | 52.3 | +3.9 | |
Labour Co-op | Sarah Church | 19,911 | 39.2 | –4.3 | |
Liberal Democrats | Stan Pajak | 4,299 | 8.5 | +4.4 | |
Majority | 6,625 | 13.1 | +8.2 | ||
Turnout | 50,746 | 69.4 | –1.6 | ||
Conservative hold | Swing | +4.1 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Robert Buckland | 24,809 | 48.4 | +2.2 | |
Labour Co-op | Sarah Church | 22,345 | 43.5 | +9.0 | |
Liberal Democrats | Stan Pajak | 2,079 | 4.1 | +0.4 | |
UKIP | Martin Costello | 1,291 | 2.5 | –9.5 | |
Green | Talis Kimberley-Fairbourn | 747 | 1.5 | –2.1 | |
Majority | 2,464 | 4.9 | –6.8 | ||
Turnout | 51,358 | 71.0 | +3.4 | ||
Conservative hold | Swing | –3.5 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Robert Buckland | 22,777 | 46.2 | +4.4 | |
Labour | Anne Snelgrove | 16,992 | 34.5 | +0.2 | |
UKIP | John Short[21] | 5,920 | 12.0 | +7.7 | |
Liberal Democrats | Damon Hooton[22] | 1,817 | 3.7 | –13.9 | |
Green | Talis Kimberley-Fairbourn[23] | 1,757 | 3.6 | +2.3 | |
Majority | 5,785 | 11.7 | +4.2 | ||
Turnout | 49,263 | 66.6 | +1.7 | ||
Conservative hold | Swing | +2.1 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Robert Buckland | 19,687 | 41.8 | +4.9 | |
Labour | Anne Snelgrove | 16,143 | 34.3 | –6.2 | |
Liberal Democrats | Damon Hooton | 8,305 | 17.6 | +0.6 | |
UKIP | Robert Tingley | 2,029 | 4.3 | +2.1 | |
Green | Jenni Miles | 619 | 1.3 | –1.6 | |
Christian | Alistair Kirk | 176 | 0.4 | N/A | |
Independent | Karsten Evans | 160 | 0.3 | N/A | |
Majority | 3,544 | 7.5 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 47,119 | 64.9 | +5.9 | ||
Conservative gain from Labour | Swing | +5.51 |
Elections in the 2000s
editParty | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Anne Snelgrove | 17,534 | 40.3 | –11.0 | |
Conservative | Robert Buckland | 16,181 | 37.2 | +2.8 | |
Liberal Democrats | Sue Stebbing | 7,322 | 16.8 | +4.9 | |
Green | Bill Hughes | 1,234 | 2.8 | N/A | |
UKIP | Stephen Halden | 955 | 2.2 | +0.6 | |
Independent | Alan Hayward | 193 | 0.4 | N/A | |
Independent | John Williams | 53 | 0.1 | N/A | |
Majority | 1,353 | 3.1 | –13.8 | ||
Turnout | 43,472 | 60.2 | –0.8 | ||
Labour hold | Swing | –6.9 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Julia Drown | 22,260 | 51.3 | +4.5 | |
Conservative | Simon Coombs | 14,919 | 34.4 | –1.4 | |
Liberal Democrats | Geoff Brewer | 5,165 | 11.9 | –2.5 | |
UKIP | Vicki Sharp | 713 | 1.6 | N/A | |
Rock 'n' Roll Loony | Roly Gillard | 327 | 0.8 | N/A | |
Majority | 7,341 | 16.9 | +5.9 | ||
Turnout | 43,384 | 61.0 | –11.9 | ||
Labour hold | Swing |
Elections in the 1990s
editParty | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Julia Drown | 23,943 | 46.8 | ||
Conservative | Simon Coombs | 18,298 | 35.8 | ||
Liberal Democrats | Stanley Pajak | 7,371 | 14.4 | ||
Referendum | David McIntosh | 1,273 | 2.5 | ||
Independent | Richard Charman | 181 | 0.2 | ||
Natural Law | Keith Buscombe | 96 | 0.2 | ||
Majority | 5,645 | 11.0 | |||
Turnout | 51,162 | 72.9 | |||
Labour win (new seat) |
Neighbouring constituencies
editSee also
editNotes
editReferences
edit- ^ "The 2023 Review of Parliamentary Constituency Boundaries in England – Volume two: Constituency names, designations and composition – South West". Boundary Commission for England. Retrieved 29 June 2024.
- ^ "The 2023 Review of Parliamentary Constituency Boundaries in England – Volume one: Report – South West | Boundary Commission for England". boundarycommissionforengland.independent.gov.uk. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
- ^ "2010 post-revision map non-metropolitan areas and unitary authorities of England" (PDF).
- ^ "The Parliamentary Constituencies Order 2023". Schedule 1 Part 7 South West region.
- ^ "Swindon History - the GWR Works - SwindonWeb". www.swindonweb.com.
- ^ "!company_name! - Company Profile from Hoover's".
- ^ "About Nationwide - Accessibility - Admin centres". Archived from the original on 14 May 2006.
- ^ "Swindon South - General election results 2024". BBC News. 5 July 2024. Retrieved 15 July 2024.
- ^ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "S" (part 6)
- ^ a b "Swindon South". BBC News. Retrieved 17 June 2024.
- ^ "Labour selections: parliamentary candidates selected so far for the general election". LabourList. Retrieved 5 March 2024.
- ^ "Sir Robert Buckland reselected as Tory candidate for Swindon South". The Swindonian. Retrieved 5 March 2024.
- ^ "Swindon South Constituency". Reform UK. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
- ^ "Stand at the next general election". South West Green Party. 17 September 2023. Retrieved 5 March 2024.
- ^ Pack, Mark (10 May 2024). "Liberal Democrat Prospective Parliamentary Candidates". Mark Pack. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
- ^ "Notional results for a UK general election on 12 December 2019". Rallings & Thrasher, Professor David Denver (Scotland), Nicholas Whyte (NI) for Sky News, PA, BBC News and ITV News. UK Parliament. Retrieved 11 July 2024.
- ^ Council, Swindon Borough. "Statement of Persons Nominated, Notice of Poll and Situation of Polling Stations South Swindon | Swindon Borough Council". www.swindon.gov.uk. Retrieved 16 November 2019.
- ^ "Swindon South parliamentary constituency - Election 2019 - BBC News".
- ^ "Labour announce candidate to contest General Election in South Swindon". Swindon Advertiser.
- ^ "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
- ^ "UKIP names general election candidates". Swindon Advertiser.
- ^ "General Election 2015 Candidates - Liberal Democrats". Archived from the original on 13 April 2014.
- ^ "General Election 2015". southwest.greenparty.org.uk.
- ^ "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
- ^ Taylor, Stephen P (20 April 2010). "Statement of Persons Nominated and Notice of Poll" (PDF). Returning Officer. Swindone Borough Council. Retrieved 21 April 2010.
- ^ "Election Data 2005". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
- ^ "Election Data 2001". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
- ^ "Election Data 1997". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
External links
edit- South Swindon UK Parliament constituency (boundaries April 2010 – May 2024) at MapIt UK
- Swindon South UK Parliament constituency (boundaries from June 2024) at MapIt UK